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Rizson Canady is a multi-talented musician. She sings, produces music, plays the drums and the piano just to name a few.
However her first love? The violin.
"It provided a voice that I did not have that I lacked," Canady said. "I lost my father at six years old and I feel like I went inward at that time and so playing the violin, just being introduced to music and being able to really create it for me, it was expressive. It made me feel things that I didn't feel or that I submerged, so that's why I fell in love with it."
That love got the attention of seven-time award winning artist, Toni Braxton, when she came to Kansas City to perform earlier this year.
"My initial thought was, is this real," Canady said. "It was amazing, so a couple of ladies reached out to me prior to that night, Karis Harrington with Kansas City G.I.F.T and Elaina Paige with Next Paige Agency; she had some dancers within the show and I assumed that Toni must've said that she was looking for a violinist in Kansas City. She connected me with Toni's team and it went from there."
The night of the show was also her birthday.
"It was just, everything was just in the stars," Canady said.
She was in her element, sharing her voice through strings.
"I felt great, I felt amazing, I felt ready for the next moment," Canady said. "I felt like all of my hard work paid off and it's continuing to pay off."
She showcased her gift both on the big stage and in the classroom.
She's an orchestra teacher at the Carver Dual Language School.
"She's been teaching us like different notes and different songs so we can play in the concerts," Canady's student, Genesis said. "She's an amazing teacher!"
"She helps a lot," Canady's student, Aurora said. "She listens to what we have to say and we ask something or tell her something, she takes us serious."
Canady says the classroom is part of her assignment.
"I know it's impactful, I know I'm supposed to be here. It means everything for me to feed my thoughts, my expressions, what I've experienced as a musician myself into young musicians. It's really impactful to hold this position," Canady said. "I pray that my music and who I am touches, impacts others, and I pray that God's light shines through me and people see a mirror and they see their light as well."
This is Canady's second year teaching in the Kansas City Public Schools district. She says she actually got her start playing the violin in the fourth grade, which feels like a full circle moment.
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